Before
by chho
Summary: His reign on Alexandria was still in it's early stages when he recognised a member of the community.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, buddy." Negan beamed as he watched Rick approach the gate. Gregory buckled not long after The Saviours had threatened The Hilltop with their agreement, making Negans life easier but denying him the sick pleasure of grinding him down slowly. But he hadn't expected Rick to be so fucking breakable. Again, he couldn't complain for it made his domination smooth and almost effortless. But couldn't underestimate Rick, fuck no. Rick was not stupid.

"We're still waiting for people to come back, we were expecting you tomorrow." He babbled as he pushed open the gate.

Negan smiled. "Then its a good fucking job that this is the only appointment I have pencilled in today, huh." He sang. "And to be honest, you've got a _lot_ of shit I'm just _itching_ to get my hands on… I brought an extra truck." He smirked, soaking up the look of distaste on Ricks face. Negan knew that Ricks love for his people was the only thing stopping him from punching him square in the face right now. "Show me around, Rick."

They began to walk as vans were driven in and parked and the Safe Zone made secure again. Except for the invasion of hostile Saviours.

"Do you usually have people just sitting around like that?" Negan glared, motioning his to a pair of women sat on a porch.

Rick bit his tongue. "She's sick," He informed him. "There isn't enough medicine to give her full doses-"

"- _So_ she's _weighing_ you down?" He asked, turning to face Rick.

"No- no she's-"

"A _drain_ on your _resources_!" Negan boomed. " _My_ resources."

The girl was being helped inside now. It was obvious that they had gotten the gist of what was going on between Rick on the foreign invader. Olivia was making helping the girl look difficult. I mean, she barely had anything to her; a pair of faded blue jeans that he figured were probably once skintight hid a pair of long legs, but her shirt didn't disguise how minuscule she looked next to her fellow resident. Negan began up the steps to the porch and snaked his arms around the girl. "Jesus, they not feeding you, darlin'?" He smirked as he helped her to the door.

"I'm fine," The girl snapped as she whipped off her hat. Suddenly a rush of blood flooded his brain. He'd heard that voice before. And he'd seen those copper tresses fall down like that before too. Fuck. "Thank you." She continued, unwrapping the long scarf that hung around her neck and turning to him.

"… Ella." He said hazily through thick furrowed brows. His eyes drank her in; her big eyes were brimming with confusion and her soft lips were agape, almost unable to produce any words.

"Negan."

Before the silence became awkward and uncomfortable, Negan barked at Olivia to get out. If Ella had been less bemused by the man in her house, she would have been upset at the way he had snapped at Olivia.

He'd been sat on her couch for at least five minutes by the time she forced herself to be less than five metres away from him. He just stared at her. She didn't look any different from the last time he saw her. Well, she wasn't this skinny, but there was no shortage of food last time he saw her.

"Max is here." She finally piped up. He couldn't help but notice how pale she was now too. God he wanted to touch her. To make sure she was real. Before, he could have just reached out and touched her face, just because he wanted to. He hadn't even realised what she said until a few moments later.

"Oh yeah?" To say he was disappointed would be an understatement.

"Yeah.

'I'm surprised he ain't babysittin' you. What happened?"

"Got jumped on a run. I was out cold until Tuesday." She told him, almost boasting.

He imagined one of his men hitting her on the back of the head with the butt of a gun. Ella watched him cringe at his thoughts. "Not got much meat on you." He deflected.

Ella tried to stop herself from laughing at the statement. He had taken their food. "No, well. Slim pickings."

"Who beat you up?" He couldn't shake the thoughts that ran through his mind. Fuck, she shouldn't have been in a situation like that… Ella shrugged. A popular method of communication before, too. "Seen a doctor?"

"No." Her eyes drifted over to the bat that was propped up against her couch and then back to him. "I heard them talking about _The Saviours_ … About _Negan_." God she looked so desperate. "They've not told me but I've put two and two together… a few of them didn't come back. Rick wont tell me-"

"We've got a good doctor at The Sanctuary."

He could see the cogs in her head as he pretty much confirmed her theory. She knew. She knew the reason why her people hadn't been coming back is because his people had been killing them. Because he had been killing them. "Part of me knew it would be you."

"I'm not leaving you here-" He said.

She shook her head and wiped away the tears that she fought so hard to keep back.

"I cant leave you." He said plainly, almost absent of any emotion, staring blankly at the wall.

"Do you want me to list all the reasons why that will never happen?"

"You said you'd never have married him if I'd have left her-"

"Before!" She hollered. "Before all of this. Before you went crazy, Negan…"

"Crazy?"

"You know what I'm talking about-"

"I'll have some meds brought over." He jumped up. "When you're good to go, you'll come back with me." And without even a glance back at her, he left her home and loaded up his supplied and left.

Rick made his way to Ella's house as soon as he personally closed the gates behind The Saviours. He sat across from her at the table he found her at and rubbed his eyes as he wondered how he could use this to his advantage. Negan had already left more and taken much less food than Rick had expected. "Did you know him?" He asked her, not needing an answer.

"Yeah, I was friends with his wife…" A look of disappointment flooded Ricks face. He knew from her hesitation that there was more to it. She knew Negan just like Lori knew Shane.

"You had an affair with him?"

A pair of eyes had never hit the floor so quickly. She was still ashamed of herself. "Yeah." She admitted.

"Does he still… Are there still feelings?"

"I think so."

"Look, a lots happened around here… Things have changed."

She scoffed, not being told a word of anything from him. "Yeah, I figured."

"We all work for him now." She could see that the words tasted foul to him.

Her eyes began to water. "He said he's going to bring a doctor and then take me back there." Rick shook his head and racked it for an answer. "Things ended… badly, with him. I've heard people talking, me just saying no wont be enough."

"Ella-"

She closed her eyes and the memories rushed back; he anxiety, the threats to tell her husband… "I'm scared." She smiled sadly.

"I wont be able to stop him."

"I know."

AN

I'm poorly and high on pain meds so I'm overhauling this entire thing, it'll be basically the same but hopefully better? Fingers crossed, eh.


	2. Chapter 2

God he liked this place; a little slice of suburban heaven. It made The Sanctuary look like a goddamn grey shit hole. Which it was, he thought. These people were different from the kind he had over there: they weren't corrupted: they weren't misfits who wouldn't fit back into a normal society. Yes, he liked it here.

"Mornin', Rick."

"Negan." He mumbled.

"Don't worry, I'm not here for your shit, just runnin' some errands."

"Thats fine."

Negan smiled, his teeth gleaming. "That's exactly what I like to fucking hear." He began. "You're not half bad at this." Negan played in a low tone. "Where's Ella?"

"She's on laundry." Rick told him, gesturing to the house he'd find her in.

"Doc!" Negan hollered, motioning for him to follow. "I need you to check someone over for me."

The house Rick directed him to smelt of soap. The sink was full of suds and there were buckets and pails covering the marble countertop. Rather abruptly, Olivia burst out from a side room. "Oh..."

"Where is she?"

"Sh- she went to collect todays baskets." Olivia whimpered.

"She's collecting today's baskets?"

"Y-yes." She stammered

"Last time I came over to Uncle Ricks she could barely fucking walk, and now she's collecting baskets?"

"She's much better now-"

"Olivia?" Ella frowned before looking over to Negan. Suddenly Olivia pushed past her and flew out of the door. "Why're you crying?" Ella hollered after her.

"Just a little… misunderstanding."

"Why don't I believe that?"

"Must be that cynical brain of yours…"

"What do you want, Negan?" Ella quipped as she began to organise darks and lights into separate piles, trying to suppress the thoughts of him bringing down that bat in his hands on the heads of her family.

He wasn't sure if she had been told of his actions, from the way she avoided looking at that bat, he wouldn't be surprised. "I brought a doctor."

"I'm better, I don't need one."

"Darlin', I really haven't got time for this today-"

"Please I-"

"Get whatever shit you want. Now. Or he dies." He told her plainly before sauntering out of the house. She quickly pursued him.

"Negan!" She cried. "Just let me-"

He swung around, narrowly escaping her running into his chest, and looked her up and down with a sarcastic expression before he boomed. "You never used to travel this light. Lets go!" He shouted to his men.

"Negan!" Rick yelled as he ran from his house. "Don't do this-"

"No! _You_ don't tell me what to do, _Rick_. Unless more of your people want to _die_ , keep your mouth _shut_."

"Rick do something! Find Max!"

Negan laughed. "Baby, _baby_ ," He cooed. "Remember how good things were?" He asked her, wiping his gloved hands over her tears. "We can have that again."

"We can't. We can't." She mumbled through her tears.

He simply smiled and shook his head. "This is how it should have been. How it always should have been." He motioned with his hand to one of his men and they bundled her into a car.


	3. Chapter 3

God it was fucking morbid in here. If she had stumbled upon this place half dead and staving, she'd have stumbled right on back where she came from and taken her chances. Everything was concrete and overpoweringly grey. She hadn't expected it to be like this. When she compared it to where Deanna and Reg set up Alexandria, she couldn't figure out why anyone would think this place was a better option. Maybe it said a lot about Negan. Hell, she didn't even know if Negan had found this place. Look at Rick. Anyone would think he had built that place and a lot of the time he acts as if he did. Ella concluded that he had overthrown someone here, and that Alexandria and The Sanctuary couldn't really be compared.

The room Ella was shown to wasn't awful, and she expected it was probably nicer than what others had been given upon arrival; there was a double bed, a chair, a working kitchen and a tv. She didn't know if it worked. The TV's in Alexandria had mostly been decoration, unless a bribe had been made to Eugene.

"He wants you to stock your cupboards." The fair man had told her from the doorway. She looked back at him and squinted. His eyes flickered to the floor as soon as he saw that she had been crying. She looked down and followed him back out of the room. The corridors were just as depressing as the rest of the place. They were like veins, supplying people rather than blood to all kinds of different places. "I'll wait out here." The guy quickly told her upon their arrival.

A small female voice peeped out from behind a stack of metal shelves. "Can I help you?"

"You're not meant to be in here-" A much more aggressive male voice followed.

Within seconds the scarred man was by her side. "Get her a box. Negan sent her to get what she wants." And a box was swiftly given to her by a now sheepish man.

Out of earshot, the woman spoke again. "Are you a wife?"

Ella frowned at the strange question. "Sorry?"

"Nothing, forget it."

Ella squinted, returning to picking tins and cartons from the shelves. The woman girl handed her a tin. "Here, you cant go wrong with soup."

"Thank you." Ella smiled politely, placing water and cereals into the paper bag. She didn't even know what to take. I mean, she was hardly spoiled for choice in Alexandria. There was so much food here.

"So you're not with Negan?" The woman piped up, bringing her back from her food induced state.

Ella whipped her head around. "Yeah, he brought me here."

"Are you going to become a wife? Its real easy when you're a wife, don't bite the hand that feeds you-"

"Are you done?" The man called out from the doorway.

Her eyes didn't move from the woman. "What do you mean?" Ella pressed.

"If he asks you just say yes."

"What're you talking about?" He asked angrily

"Nothing." She quipped before scurrying back off between the endless shelves.

"Come on." He mumbled, hurrying her out into the corridor. The bag of groceries had been snatched out of her hands and he quickly led her back to that room.

"Why did the woman in the pantry think I was Negans wife?"

"A wife." He corrected. "Because they get whatever they want."

"So wives get whatever they want?" That was hardly practical, she thought.

"His wives, not anybody's wife."

"Wives?" She scoffed through a laugh, over pronouncing the 's'.

…

Laying in her new bed, staring up into he darkness, she was thinking about Max; imagining him to be doing the same thing. He wouldn't be though. He would be pulling his hair out, convincing Rick to give him a car to get to The Sanctuary, to get her back. She worked it out to be about ten thirty when three quick knocks hit her door. Her head looked over to the lines of light that shone through the cracks, and the two feet that blocked it alone the bottom. She threw back the sheets and slowly opened it, flooding the room with the flickering artificial light.

"How're you doing?" He asked, making his way inside. "Get stocked up?"

"Yeah,"

He stopped and stood with his back facing her. "Good." She didn't take her eyes off him as he turned to face her. The only thing lighting his face being what came from the hallway. "You'll like it here; you can have whatever the fuck you want." Ella didn't respond, she quickly wiped a stray tear that she had tried to fight back. "Hey, hey, don't be doing that," Negan chimed softly, moving towards her with open arms, and almost entirely engulfing her with his much bigger frame.

"I just want to go back" She cried.

"You'll get used to it." He told her, taking a step back. "I have to go to an outpost tonight. You should sleep some. I'll check on you in the morning." He kissed her on the forehead before making towards the door. "Lock this, wont you, goodnight." He said, shutting it and leaving her alone in the darkness.

Ella frowned, going over his quick dismissal and ran out into the hallway. "I know about your wives." She yelled.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "No, you don't." He replied plainly.

"You always got bored of fucking the same person-" Ella stopped when she saw him turn around and march back down the corridor towards her. He held out his hand and grabbed her face.

"You don't know shit." He growled, pushing her roughly away.

She fell back into a wall and a gasp of pain escaped her lips. "No? Then tell me; why have you got five women upstairs and me down here? Because you love me?" She scoffed sarcastically.

"Yes, I love you," He began. "I've always loved you, I've loved you since the first fucking moment I saw you!" Yelled.

"Then why are you doing this?"

"I can't lose you again!" He cried like a dying animal. "You were everything I had left after she'd gone... and you went with him and I thought for sure that you were dead, that you were one of those things and that killed me." He grabbed her hands and held them flat against his chest. "There isn't anything inside here now."

She wasn't sure if this was still about her, but whatever it was she could see in his eyes made her ache. She couldn't respond. The thing she had loved about him in the first place was how there was always something that was lit in him. And now she couldn't spit a word out.

"Please," he murmured desperately with watery eyes. Fuck he was desperate. "Don't punish."

When he felt her hands move he was so sure she was going to push him off of her and head for the door. But she flung her arms around her and cried. And it was deep; from somewhere in the depths of her gut. "I'm sorry…" Sobbed Ella.


	4. Chapter 4

Negan hadn't long been back from checking an outpost. Visiting Ella was the first thing he set out to do upon getting out of the truck he'd been sat in for the last hour and a half. After their exchange yesterday, he wouldn't have been surprised if she'd slam the door in his face.

He knocked three times, in a different rhythm than she knew him to use. A trick that wouldn't fail him, he thought. Nothing.

He impatiently knocked again. "Ella?" He hollered out.

Silence.

"Open the fucking door." The door wouldn't open upon twisting the handle. Was she even in there? Fat Joey suddenly appeared from around the corner, which was when he remembered that he was supposed to fucking watch her. What he really wanted when he gave Joey his instructions was to stop her from going near people. Like his damn wives. "Where the fuck is she?"

"She not in there?"

"Has she fucking left?" Negan sarcastically barked.

"Not that I know of."

Before Joey had finished Negan had already forced his boot through the door. Huge splinters of wood flew out into the hall as he pulled his foot back. A size 10 shaped hole gave Negan more than enough room to manoeuvre the lock on the inside of the door. If she wasn't fucking in here after all of this, Joey would be getting more than a talking to later on. Once the door swung open, the shape on reassured him that she hadn't found her way up to Sherry and the girls. But then another thought flashed through his head... How the fuck did she sleep through that?

He began towards her. It wasn't long before he saw red. "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck." He panicked and looked towards the chair; the stuffing had been pulled out of it and reshaped under her sheets. Joey was lingering in the doorway. "You were supposed to be fucking watching her, you useless fucking prick!"

"I only left for a minute-"

"Get a group together. I want her found in the next hour or your fucking head is on the line, do you understand me?|

"Y-yes sir."

Negan was already half way to the courtyard before the word had fully gotten out. He couldn't think straight, let alone think about what direction she'd have gone in. The woods. She must have gone into the woods; she'd look for cover until The Saviours had stopped looking and then make for Alexandra. "Fuck!" He yelled as he left the safety of The Sanctuary. and made towards where he would search.

He had been traipsing through the dense woodland for near on half an hour. His nerves were shot and when his radio crackled into life he jumped. "This better be good news." He yelled into it.

"Got her," It spluttered. "You can all head on back now."

By the time he got back to The Sanctuary, he already knew that she was in his office. The door hit the wall from the amount of force he had pushed it with. She was in a chair with her hands bound together with rope. Simon and Dwight were standing on opposite ends of the room.

"What the fuck was that?" His face was dark and deadly when he yelled.

God he was angry. God she was scared. "I-"

"Why did you do that to me?" He raged, pulling her up, grabbing her arms and shaking her. Dwight had to stop himself from rushing forward, but Simon didn't flinch at the physical violence.

"Get off me!" She screamed, with his hands still firmly around her biceps.

"I'm trying to keep you safe! Did you not hear what I fucking said to you yesterday? You should have come with me when I came and got you!" He continues to yell. "Get the fuck out of here!"

With nothing else, Simon and Dwight left the room and got back to their duties.

"I can't lose you again. I've done fucking awful things, Ella." She knew that. "Stuff I can't come back from. I've beaten people to death and I haven't felt a thing... but as soon as I saw you it was like something was switched on."

"I don't want to be anywhere near you" she rasped. He was sure he could feel her foot in his gut but she was just standing there. "You killed the only people I had left that I loved. Glenn and Abraham with this fucking bat," She hollered, lunging forward and grabbing it from him, their hands fighting for the bat. "And then you fucking bring me here to watch you fuck around with those _whores_ -" She continued, pulling it towards her. Negan finally let go and Ella flew backwards. " _Fuck_!"

"Here," he quickly reached for a knife to cut the rope that was twisted around her wrists. "Are you alright?"

Ella held her head in he hands and sobbed. "No."

"All I ever wanted to do was look after you. From the first time I saw you…"

"I can look after me-"

"I watched you marry him. Do you know what that did to me?"

"You never would have left her-"

"I did, that night at that god fuckin' awful motel."

"You were off your face on coke,"

"I fucking left her and you left me there!"

"She was one of my best friends! I couldn't do that to her!"

"But you could to me?"

"Yes! You weren't sick! You weren't alone and hopeless and desperate!"

"How do you know that? How do you know?"

"I don't."

"Do not leave The Sanctuary again. Do you hear me?"

"You cant keep me here-"

"Do not leave!" His voice could be heard throughout The Sanctuary, Ella got up and made her way into his bed and didn't say another word to him.


	5. Chapter 5

When she woke up everything was black. For a second she thought this was death; darkness, silence… What made her realise that she was still alive in a world of dead people was Negan, stirring beside her. Of course he had the nerve to get into bed with her after that… His foot moved suddenly and touched her leg and she jumped, waking him. Before he was like a sack of bricks. Lucille used to tell her that he could sleep through an earthquake.

"Are you alright?" He grumbled, turning over from his side.

Ella tried to reach for a lamp but couldn't find one. "Why is it so dark?"

"Because its three a.m., whats wrong?"

"Nothing."

He could feel the mattress move as she settled back down into his bed. God if only he could touch her, pull her in to him…

When she stirred for the second time, there were small flashes of light coming in through the dark curtains. It was too dark to read the clock on the bedside table and her outstretched arms couldn't feel the lamp.

"If I see your god damn fucking face in this room one more time I will beat the holy shit out of you, boy. Do you fucking hear me?" She rubbed her eyes and climbed out of the bed, following the source of the noise, pushing a heavy door, flooding the room with more light and burning her eyes. Negan had that bat pressed against a mans chest whilst two men held him down. "Go back inside, Ella."

"What's-"

"Get back inside!" He roared. Ella stumbled a bit and retreated. A few moments later she heard a door slam and then the door to the room she was in creak. "I didn't mean to yell at you." Negan spoke clearly.

"Its fine…" She murmured.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Ella-"

"Can I go outside?"

"Not on your own."

"I wont-"

"Someone will be with you when you're not with me."

"But-"

"What I say goes."

"… Ok."

"You'll get used to it."

There was silence for a moment, where he looked at her, who looked at the ground and kneaded her hands in one another. "Can I meet them?"

Negan knew who she was referring to. "Who?"

"Your wives."

"No."

"So I just sit here?" She asked.

He rubbed his temples and she watched his brows knit together. "Only for now-"

"Well can I-"

"No, just stay in here." She frowned and shook her head.

"Why?"

"Because right now, you're about eleven hours on since your grand fucking escape and I don't know that you're not going to do it again."

"I wont."

He laughed. "Baby, I'm not willing to take that risk." Ella glanced at her boots and before she could turn to move away from him, Negan held his arm up to her chin and pulled her face up to his. Neither of them said a word as he moved in to kiss her, but before he could, his radio began to crackle. "Boss? You better get down here; we've got a visitor."

"Who?" Negan frustratedly spat into it.

The walkie talkie crackled. "A guy. Never seen him before. Says he's one of Ricks."

Ellas eyes grew wide. It had to be Max. She looked up to Negan who was thinking the same exact thing. "Stay here." He barked, slamming and locking the door behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Negan swaggered out to the gate, Lucille swung over his shoulder and the arrogant grin sprawled across his face. He instantly recognised Max. To say he looked unimpressed would be an understatement. "Hey, Buddy. Long time, no see." Negan smiled.

Max's face didn't change. "Go get her."

Negan smiled and threw his hands up in the air. "No."

"I will fucking slaughter you all. Go get my fucking wife!"

Negan laughed a little. "Woah, oh, oh, still got those cop-balls firmly attached there, haven't you?" He moved further towards the railing in front of him. "Even so, your _wife_ isn't your wife anymore. She belongs to me; she's mine. _Daryl_ is mine. So I suggest you turn the fuck around and head back in the same fucking direction you came from."

"How does a fucking gym coach get to build a place like this? Because I've known you a long time, Negan, and I know you couldn't have built this place… so who did you take it from, huh?"

Negan laughed as he swung Lucille whilst parading along the platform he stood on. "You're not a cop anymore, _Max_. And _neither_ is _Rick_. And guess _what_ \- you're both pussywhipped to a fucking gym coach."

"Go get my wife-" Suddenly, the door behind him swung open and Ella appeared from it, breathless and distressed. She stopped as soon as she saw him; frozen with fear and raw emotion. "Well shit, we've got a fucking visitor," She exhaled a shaky breath and just looked at him. "Who I'm sure I told not five fucking minutes ago, to stay where she fucking was."

"You got a gun?" Ella shouted over to him as she tried to catch her breath. He nodded and moved his hands to the weapon tucked into his pants. "Max he isn't going to let me go," She cried. "I love you and I'm sorry but you need to shoot me, you need to shoot me because I cant stay here-"

Negan motioned for his men to raise their guns. "If you even get that gun out of your waistband, let alone point it in her direction, I'll put a fucking bullet through both of your knees, throw you into the back of that truck there and take you, and her, back to Alexandria and really fucking make you suffer. You'll be fucking begging me to put a bullet between your eyes. And I wont. I'll keep you alive and I will make all of them fucking watch. I'll make her watch."

The Saviours all aimed the weapons towards Max's feet now, and he looked across to Ella. "I love you." He said, before snatching his gun up and shooting a bullet in his wife's direction. Negan pushed Ella to the ground and listened as Max's bullet hit the metal wall of The Sanctuary and his mens bullets pop as they fired towards his legs.

"Load him into that fucking truck! Someone go get Carson and keep the motherfucker alive!" Negan yelled before kneeling down to a shaking Ella. "You can't get away from me." He said before getting back up. "And now, we've all got to make a trip to Alexandria." He yelled. "Lets show those sorry fucks just how fucking serious we are!"


End file.
